Oxbow Public Market

With Randy currently on a Wards schedule (translation: works up to 80 hours/wk, no weekends off and only 1 day off a week), we try to make the most of his precious time off. The weather was gorgeous yesterday so we decided to head over to Napa for lunch. We are so lucky to live less than an hour away from this beautiful wine country. We have a lot of favorite restaurants in the Napa area including Brix, Bouchon, and Gott's Roadside, but we decided to stroll through the Oxbow Public Market. The market is housed inside a large hall filled with wonderful purveyors of coffee, spices, cheese, seafood, other fine foods and of course, good eats. Before settling down for lunch we sauntered through the hall, checking out the different vendors.

I spent a good amount of time poring over the spice jars at Whole Spice Company, where they have every spice, salt and seasoning blend you can think of. There were so many I wanted to try but settled on an organic seasoning mix for roasted chicken and sea salt with porcini mushrooms that I'm going to try on salmon.

At the Olive Press, they have great little utensils and tools for olive lovers.

We also admired the awesome cheese selection at Oxbow Cheese Merchant but managed to refrain from buying anything this time. I snapped a picture of this bumper sticker which made me laugh and reminded me of my good friend April, another cheese-lover.

Lucas and I "shopping" for lunch!

I decided to get lunch at Pica Pica Maize Kitchen which offers traditional Venezuelan fare. I've never had Venezuelan food before so I was excited to try it out. I chose an arepa (grilled corn flour cake) with pernil (pulled pork), topped with fresh tomato and avocado. I also ordered garlic yucca fries on the side. The food was amazing! So fresh, flavorful and different from anything I've tried before. The pulled pork wasn't as smoky as the American version but still so tasty. The yucca fries were surprisingly crispy given how large they were cut and their natural starchiness. I will definitely be going back to sample their other menu options.

Randy opted for a wood-fired pizza from Ca'Momi with prosciutto and mushrooms. I was so engrossed in my own lunch that I forgot to get a picture of his pizza, but suffice it to say it was delicious, especially the fresh crust.

Although we are both have shameless sweet tooths, Randy and I were too stuffed for any dessert (a rarity). Next time we'll try some homemade ice cream from Three Twins. It was another beautiful day in the Napa Valley and time well spent on a day off.

Firehouse Visit

Yesterday Josie, the two boys and I spent the afternoon in Davis. We met up with two of my friends from work - Caroleen and Francis - and their lovely families, for lunch at the ever-popular Fuji's sushi buffet. After stuffing our bellies we took the kids for a real treat: a visit to one of the local firehouses! It was the first time for nearly all the kids (and adults for that matter), and it was a great experience. The firemen were warm, hospitable and were happy to show the kids the engines, equipment and answer any questions.

The kids got lots of swagg including junior fire chief hats, pencils, activity worksheets, tattoos and bracelets. Cruz loved sitting inside the engine and pretending he was a firefighter!

But his favorite part was seeing all the heavy-duty equipment inside the tool engine.

After the tour, we built our own ice cream sundaes, courtesy of Caroleen. The kids had so much fun chatting with the firemen and asking questions. It was an awesome afternoon and one that I hope Cruz will always remember.

Baby love

Lucas was doing tummy time this evening when Randy got home from work.

He came to kiss Lucas hello at the exact same time that Cruz was giving his little brother some love. I snapped a picture at just the right time.

Family Resolutions

I personally make New Year's resolutions every year, but this is the first year that Randy and I talked about setting some family goals. Despite having two kids and two full-time jobs plus lengthy commutes, we still wanted to have something to work towards that would keep our family going in a positive direction.

Here they are in no particular order:

1. Attend church at least twice a month. Both of us were raised in the Catholic church and attended mass on a regular basis with our parents. As adults (pre-children) we also attended weekly. However, two kids, medical residency and the aforementioned commutes, this practice has wound up on the back burner.

2. Take our children to at least 3 new places this year. There are no better life lessons than ones found in the real world and we are firm believers in exposing our children to as much as possible. I think it's so important to teach kids that there is a bigger world out there than the house they live in, their families, friends and their immediate community. I want my kids to grow up embracing diversity and appreciating all walks of life and I hope to instill this through travel and new experiences. I just ordered the book "100 Places to Take Your Kids Before They Grow Up" to keep us inspired!

3. "Parents only" time once a month. Commonly known as "date night" I thought it was important to put this one into writing. As all parents know, once children enter the picture, the relationship between spouses often gets overlooked. Add to that the myriad of external stressors such as work, friends, extended family, hobbies, and just plain old not-enough-hours-in-the-day, it's easy to see how marriages can become unglued. Randy and I realize we need to make a conscious effort to nurture our relationship by carving out this little bit of time for ourselves every month.

4. Volunteer as a family. One of my mom's legacies was her love of volunteering. It was an activity that she began with my sister and I from a young age and continued throughout her life. I will never forget the times we volunteered together and what it taught me about other people, my own life and my parents. Rather than constantly telling me I should be thankful for what I had, I realized that on my own as I helped her assemble grocery bags at a food locker where families would come to pick up food and supplies. Although Cruz will only be 4 years old this year, I believe it is never too early to learn gratitude or how to give to others. I am truly excited at the idea of being able to volunteer in some way as a family. For anyone who's interested, there is a great organization called Hands On Bay Area that has virtually every type of volunteering available, all you have to do is sign up and show up!

So there you have it, our 2012 family goals. Wish us luck and check back to see our progress!

Fun with 'staches

With cooler temperatures and cold and flu season underway, I try to keep little Lucas from too much exposure to the general public. As a result I sometimes get a little cabin fever and need to entertain myself...

2012

Happy new year! Another fresh year before us. I just love the optimism and positivity that a new year brings. It's amazing how turning the page to a new calendar incites people to want to be better, do better and try harder, and we aren't an exception. We will be working on our Villanueva Family Goals, stay tuned for a future post.

We rang in the new year with a low-key, family-friendly weekend in Sausalito and had a great time. We started off at the Bay Area Discovery Museum where the air was crisp and the sun shone bright. There were so many people because every New Year's Eve the museum hosts a "Noon Year's Eve" party for all the little kiddies, complete with bubbles, a DJ, goodie bags and giant beach ball drop! Too cute.





After soaking up the sun and running off some energy, we headed over to Cavallo Point Lodge at historic Fort Baker, right next to the museum where we booked a room for the night. It was our first time there and we will definitely be going back.





We stayed in one of their contemporary hotel rooms which had a beautiful minimalist quality accented with lots of natural elements like stone flooring in the bathroom, beautiful wood and floor to ceiling windows that seemed to bring the outdoors in. I especially liked their eco-friendly efforts.

For dinner we met up with our good friend April and dined at Intramuros, a Filipino restaurant that I've been wanting to try for a long time. I've heard a lot of good things about it and had to see for myself. The verdict: good but not great. See my Yelp review for more details! Nevertheless, the food was satisfying and the company made it a great evening all around. Being our first time there we went a little overboard on the ordering:





After dinner we headed back to the hotel where we got cozy in our pjs, tuned in to Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve and welcomed the new year with our two little boys. The next day we checked out of Cavallo Point and headed to San Francisco for dim sum at Yank Sing, another establishment on our "to eat" list. The food was amazing - perfectly formed dumplings, fresh crispy lettuce cups, melt-in-your-mouth peking duck and more. It's definitely on the pricey side and not somewhere we'd go regularly, but hey, we had to start the new year off right! It's a must-try for anyone who's a fan of dim sum.

Our last stop before returning home to Vacaville was a visit to my friend/coworker Rosa. Rosa and I have been friends since I first started at Genentech and she has been a constant supporter of both me and our family. It was her first time meeting Lucas so it was an especially nice visit.

All in all it was another wonderful family mini-getaway. We look forward to what 2012 has in store for us...happy new year to you and yours!